


New Year's in Greenock

by littlemisscurious



Series: Tom, Emmy, Ben, Ellie, Paula, Max and Sophie [23]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Scotland, Winter, new year's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:05:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1132991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisscurious/pseuds/littlemisscurious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1. A/N: The third and (so far) last of the ‘444 Followers Prompts’. Thanks to emannep52 for sending it in!!; unbeta’d</p><p>2. A/N: Features Tom & Paula & Emmy & Ben from "River" and the "Christmas Challenge"; follows the events of the latter</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Year's in Greenock

It was the quiet and regular breathing of the man lying next to her which woke her from a long and restful night of sleep. The morning sun, peeking in through a crack in the curtains, drew a pattern on their duvets and, with a content and happy smile on her face, Paula turned to the sleeping man beside her. His blanket had ridden down, exposing his toned and naked chest and she couldn’t help but stretch her hand out and let her fingertips glide over his naked skin.

Tom murmured in his sleep, wrinkling his nose at the same time before he placed his own hand over hers. Paula bit her lip with a smile, shuffling a little closer to kiss him softly on his chest. His arms wrapped around her almost automatically and she placed her head on the skin she just kissed as she closed her eyes once more. “Can you hear them yet?,” he whispered after a while and Paula smiled. “No, I can’t.” “Then let’s stay in bed a little longer.” His lips ghosted over her forehead the same time as his fingers glided over her back and she moved even closer to him if that was still possible.

She loved those quiet moments in the morning, those few minutes before the house was filled once more with the voices and laughter of Emiliana and Benjamin. She loved those two to bits but she also needed some time away from them occasionally. Being mere 23 years of age, she wasn’t yet ready to be their full-time mother-replacement and Tom knew it, wherefore he made sure she had some time ‘off’ every day.

 

Quiet clatter from the kitchen could be heard after a while and Paula had to remind herself where they were for a moment. They had driven up to Scotland the day before to celebrate New Year’s with Tom’s father and were now lying in the guest bedroom on the top floor of his little cottage. “Do you think we should get up as well?,” Paula mumbled against his skin, her fingertips drawing invisible patterns onto his naked chest. Picking up his phone from the nightstand to check the time, Tom replied quietly, “We probably should. Just so Dad doesn’t have to deal with the little monsters on his own.”

After he placed his phone back on the little chest of drawers beside him, he didn’t get up, though, but turned towards the young woman in his arms with a loving smile on his lips. “Although,…five more minutes won’t do any harm,” Tom grinned and, one hand buried loosely in Paula’s curls, he pressed his lips onto hers which she responded to oh so gladly. Her hand roamed over his naked back, his shoulders, strong and defined under her touch. He made her feel safe and protected without intimidating her and the walls of worry and insecurity she had built up previously were crumbling with every time he kissed her, held her, touched her.

***

“Morning Dad!,” Tom smiled as they entered the kitchen downstairs, realising only moments later that two more pairs of eyes looked at him over the rims of their mugs. “Oh hello there, you’re up early,” he added, surprised, and walked over to his children to kiss them good morning. “Morning Daddy! We were extra quiet earlier so you could have a lie-in. And Grandpa made us hot milk with honey,” Emmy smiled proudly, earning herself a gentle ruffling of her hair from her father. “What lucky children you are,” Tom winked, pressing a kiss onto his father’s cheek as well. “Thank you, Dad! Come on, let me make breakfast in return.”

Paula smiled at the two men and at how easy Tom seemed to slip back into his father’s Scottish accent now that he was back up here in Greenock. “Sure boy, go ahead,” the older one nodded, crossing the kitchen to kiss Paula’s cheek. “Good morning, I hope you slept well, my dear. The room is a bit small, I know, but I hope it will do.” She had to listen carefully when he talked, her ears not yet fully accustomed to the thick accent, but she nodded with a smile. “I slept very well, thank you, Mr Hiddleston. And the room is perfect, don’t you worry.” Her formality earned her a stern glance and a tutting noise from the older man. “Paula, dear, I already told you to call me James.” The young woman mumbled an apology and he patted her hand ere turning back to his son, who was already busy preparing a Full English for his family.

***

Loud laughter echoed around the garden, which was entirely covered in snow, and Tom smiled as he watched his children chase each other and Paula, around the cottage. “Here, have a cuppa with me, my boy,” his aging father mumbled, handing him a mug of steaming, hot tea and he took it with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Dad. Also, thank you for inviting us over. It’s great to be here with you again. The children love it so very much.” Despite being a fully grown man, a widower, a father, he was also still his Dad’s child and he blushed a little as his father simply shook his head and patted his cheek. “You’re always welcome here, Tom, I hope you know that. You and your lovely family will always have a place in my house to come to.”

Tom’s eyes roamed back to the blond woman, now caught by Emmy and Ben, as she let herself fall back into a pile of snow before the children jumped on top of her to cover her with snow and kisses alike. He wasn’t the only one, though, who eyed them with a smile. “She’s a lovely girl. Make sure you keep her close, Thomas.” Again, a slight blush crept up his cheeks and he looked over at James. “I intend to, Dad. Even though it’s all still quite new, I’ve also realised that she means a lot to me. I’m just…you know, the age difference worries me sometimes. There are 14 years between us. Not that I mind but I wonder if she does sometimes, maybe.” Carefully, he took a sip of his tea, the hot contents warming him up from the inside immediately. “You know, son, sometimes there are only a few months or years between people and they don’t get on forever. Sometimes it’s more than a decade but still they remain together until the very end. Love is not measured by age or experience, it only listens to the heart.” Tom nodded with a thankful smile and gently squeezed his father’s hand.

“Have you made any resolutions for the new year by the way? If no, you should do before midnight.” His father’s eyes had a glimmer of mischief in them and the young man chuckled quietly. “I don’t really believe in new year’s resolutions, Dad. Nobody sticks to them anyway.” A thoughtful nod and a sip of his tea later, James Hiddleston uttered his disagreement with his son’s statement. “It doesn’t have to be something like “do more sports” or “eat less sweets”. What about a “love more”, “smile at strangers”, “make somebody’s life a little richer each day”?” With a pat on the back, he left his son standing just outside the cottage, thinking about his suggestions while he watched his little family ‘fight’ in the snow.

 

Determined, Tom placed his mug on the windowsill by the door ere he walked towards his children and Paula, the snow quickly wetting the hem of his trousers. “Daddy! Daddy join our game! We want to turn Paula into a snow woman,” Emmy shouted and Ben nodded in agreement, his cheeks flushed and his nose red with the cold. “What about we turn you into snow children,” he suggested instead, earning himself screeches and screams from his twins as they ran away to escape his grasp.

Chuckling, he helped Paula up from the ground, her face equally as flushed as his children’s, little icicles sticking onto her hair and clothes. “Hello Mrs Snow Woman,” he mumbled with a grin, holding her close. “Hello Mr Snow Man,” she replied quietly and with a loving smile, her hands wrapped around his middle. “What about I get you inside for a nice hot bath and then we all have lunch with my Dad before we watch a Disney film or so with the kids?” Gently, he placed his hand on her cheek, enchanted by her twinkling blue eyes, the innocence and mischief they exuded at the same time.”That sounds lovely,” the young woman nodded, standing on her tip toes to kiss him gently.

It didn’t take long for Emmy and Ben to realise that they hadn’t been followed and with loud screams and armed with snow balls, they ran towards their dad and his girlfriend, covering them in the white, cold, and fluffy material in no time. “Maybe we should take that bath together,” Paula whispered, shyly and almost inaudibly, when the twins were finished with their attack, leaving Tom and Paula covered entirely in snow before they ran back to the cottage to help their grandfather with preparing lunch. Tom bit his lip, finding the young woman’s flushed cheeks, which weren’t to be blamed on the cold entirely, incredibly endearing. “That sounds like a lovely idea,” he agreed, kissing her once more as new, fluffy snowflakes started falling from the grey, thick clouds over his father’s home.


End file.
